Butterball LLC announced Feb. 19 the purchase of a strategically located further processing facility in Raeford, N.C.

The purchase of this facility, closed by its previous owners in December 2014, was completed on Feb. 19 and will help the company continue to meet growing consumer demand for a variety of Butterball turkey products.

"We are extremely excited to expand Butterball's further processing operations in Raeford, N.C., and for the opportunity to further strengthen our ties with the community," noted Kerry Doughty, Butterball president and chief executive officer. "Over the next 12 months, we anticipate investing nearly $30 million in improvements for the facility, totaling more than 200,000 sq. ft., and enhancing its production capacity to 200 million lb. annually."

Beyond the business rationale for this acquisition, this move also is important to Butterball given its longstanding ties to local communities throughout the state, including Raeford, where Butterball already employs nearly 200 people in its hatchery operations and Western Breeder Division. The company noted that, through this acquisition, it will provide an opportunity for more than 200 initial jobs for those in the Raeford community, and more than 360 jobs over the next three years.

Butterball said it expects this facility to begin operations in April.

Headquartered in Garner, N.C., Butterball is the largest producer of turkey products in the U.S. — producing more than 1 billion lb. of turkey each year. Butterball operates six processing plants located in North Carolina, Arkansas, Illinois and Missouri.